By David Bosco Tuesday, February 15, 2011 Before Egypt’s revolution consumed the world’s diplomatic oxygen, a nasty fight was brewing in the UN Security Council over Israel’s settlements policy. Council members were debating a draft resolution that would have condemned the settlements as illegal and harmful to the peace process. That fight appears ready to break out again, and it’s putting the Obama administration in the uncomfortable position of trying to marginalize the Security Council, an institution it has often privileged.

From the beginning of the debate on a settlements resolution, the United States has made clear its lack of enthusiasm. Last month, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton insisted “the only way that there will be a resolution of the conflict… is through a negotiated settlement. Therefore we don’t see action at the UN or any other forum as being helpful in bringing about this desired outcome.” Meanwhile, a group of former American diplomats and influential commentators pressured the administration to let the Security Council act.

With the Egypt crisis having ebbed, the issue appears ready to resurface. According to some reports, Lebanon and other backers of [...]]]>

' Was Thomas Jefferson a Freemason? Brother Denslow showed that Jefferson was reported by Dr. Joseph Guillotin to have attended meetings of the Lodge of Nine Muses in Paris; that he had marched in a Masonic procession with Widow’s Son Lodge No. 60 and Charlottesville Lodge No. 90 on October 6, 1817, at the cornerstone laying of Central College (now the University of Virginia); that the Grand Lodges of South Carolina and Louisiana held funeral orations and processions for him following his death on July 4, 1826; and that a Blue Lodge at Surry Court House, Virginia, was named Jefferson Lodge No. 65 in 1801.' – Scottish Rite Journal Archives

Remarks during arms negotiations show Obama administration’s uncertainty about peace in region

Wednesday, Apr 14, 2010 By Juan Cole

Freemason Barack Obama

President Barack Obama acknowledged Tuesday that, despite the expenditure of substantial political capital by his administration, progress may not be made on Israel-Palestine peace. The AP quoted his reply to a question about how recent successes in negotiating nuclear arms reduction with Russia — and getting 48 nations to sign on to a nuclear material security agreement — might translate into diplomatic successes elsewhere.

The two sides “may say to themselves, ‘We are not prepared to resolve these issues no matter how much pressure the United States brings to bear,’” Obama said.

Obama reiterated that peace is a vital goal, but one that may be beyond reach “even if we are applying all of our political capital.”

Global reaction to U.S. President Barack Obama being awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize ranges from hearty congratulations to expressions of disbelief and derision.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee recognized the president for his work to strengthen international diplomacy, citing in particular efforts to rid the world of nuclear weapons. The peace prize appears to have caught everyone, including Mr. Obama himself, by surprise.

At American College in Cairo, political scientist Saiid Sadek found Mr. Obama’s selection odd and undeserved. “There is no peace in Iraq, nor in Afghanistan. The Arab-Israeli conflict is still at a standstill. As usual, nothing happened. And Guantanamo Bay jail is still open. So what for is he getting that prize?,” he said

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described the peace prize as “great news”. “President Obama embodies the new spirit of dialogue and engagement on the world’s biggest problems: climate change, nuclear disarmament and a wide range of peace and security challenges,” he said.

Two other sitting U.S. presidents have become Nobel laureates: Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt.

Spero News’ Mary Ann Kreitzer relates this story of a Notre Dame Barack Obama protester who was arrested for ‘belligerance’ for holding up an anti-abortion sign while police permitted pro-obama supporters free curbside motorcade access.

After six hours of joining in the protests off campus, Karen and Sonny left to begin their long ride back to Virginia. But they got turned around and pulled into the parking lot of a credit union bordering the university campus to get their bearings. As they did, they noticed a group of police cars gathering and officers putting up barricades which appeared to mark the route of the Obama motorcade. So Karen and Sonny got out and Karen pulled out her sign, a half posterboard sheet, that read, “Shame on Notre Dame!”

A few minutes later a police officer came over and told them they’d have to move back 50 feet from the road which they did even though others were standing closer. As they walked back with the officer, they objected to being singled out and asked why those walking on the sidewalk weren’t being moved back. The officer spoke into his phone and a minute later they [...]]]>

Just weeks after announcing he would make the images public, administration officials said the president had told his legal advisers that releasing the photos would endanger troops.

The change of heart is thought to have come after senior military officials gave warning the release could cause a backlash against troops.

CIA ignored warnings from US soldiers that torture and extreme stress would not workMr Obama now wants the issue to go back to court, although federal appeals judges have already ruled the photos should be released.

The proposed release of the photographs had threatened to reignite the scandal surrounding Abu Ghraib prison in 2004.

It came after a legal action by the American Civil Liberties Union and followed a political firestorm over alleged torture of detainees under President George W. Bush.

The images relate to more than 400 separate cases involving alleged prisoner abuse between 2001 and 2005.

Full Article

]]>http://freemasonrywatch.org/blog/?feed=rss2&p=940Bro. Obama’s new spiritual advisor said to be a ‘team’ of five Pastors opposed to ‘social injustice’…http://freemasonrywatch.org/blog/?p=69
http://freemasonrywatch.org/blog/?p=69#respondFri, 07 Dec 2012 05:52:11 +0000http://freemasonrywatch.org/blog/?p=69

New York Times March 14, 2009

Without a Pastor of His Own, Obama Turns to Five By LAURIE GOODSTEIN

President Obama has been without a pastor or a home church ever since he cut his ties to the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. in the heat of the presidential campaign. But he has quietly cultivated a handful of evangelical pastors for private prayer sessions on the telephone and for discussions on the role of religion in politics.

All are men, two of them white and three black — including the Rev. Otis Moss Jr., a graying lion of the civil rights movement. Two, the entrepreneurial dynamos Bishop T. D. Jakes and the Rev. Kirbyjon H. Caldwell, also served as occasional spiritual advisers to President George W. Bush. Another, the Rev. Jim Wallis, leans left on some issues, like military intervention and poverty programs, but opposes abortion.

None of these pastors are affiliated with the religious right, though several are quite conservative theologically. One of them, the Rev. Joel C. Hunter, the pastor of a conservative megachurch in Florida, was branded a turncoat by some leaders of the Christian right when he began to speak out on the [...]]]>

Arnold Schwarzenegger, California’s “Catholic” governor, issued a statement yesterday praising Barack Obama shortly after the president issued an executive order lifting restrictions on federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research imposed by the Bush Administration.

“President Obama’s executive order is a huge win for the millions of people who suffer from spinal cord injuries, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis and many other illnesses,” said Schwarzenegger in a statement released by his press office within hours of the president’s decision. “Californians were the first in the nation to support and fund embryonic stem cell research and we are big believers in the power of this revolutionary science to not only improve but to save lives. Because of the federal ban, California’s world-renown research facilities have had to have separate areas for the federally-funded and the non-federally funded programs, causing duplicative efforts. I applaud President Obama for removing this barrier which allows California to maximize critical research funding so we can continue to lead the world in stem cell research.”

President Obama’s climate plan could cost industry close to $2 trillion, nearly three times the White House’s initial estimate of the so-called “cap-and-trade” legislation, according to Senate staffers who were briefed by the White House.

A top economic aide to Mr. Obama told a group of Senate staffers last month that the president’s climate-change plan would surely raise more than the $646 billion over eight years the White House had estimated publicly, according to multiple a number of staffers who attended the briefing Feb. 26.

“We all looked at each other like, ‘Wow, that’s a big number,’” said a top Republican staffer who attended the meeting along with between 50 and 60 other Democratic and Republican congressional aides.